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1927 Pacific typhoon season
The 1927 typhoon season featured the most intense storm ever recorded at the time - a record that would stand until 1951. It was also the deadliest season in the Western Pacific record until 1956. The season featured twenty-three cyclones, of which one was a tropical depression, nineteen typhoons and at least three major typhoons, one of which reaching Category five intensity. It was the first year that recorded a Category five storm since 1912, though the next one would follow only a year later, in 1928. It is, of course, worth noting that information in this time period may be inaccurate or incomplete, and so more extreme storms may not be included in this list due to lack of information or not enough evidence to substantiate one. Since regular satellite imagery in 1979, there have been an average of nine major typhoons, suggesting that numbers in this article may be lower than what actuallyThe first typhoon of the season formed around February 12th near Ifalik, Micronesia. It developed into a tropical storm the same day, and passed just north of Palau early on the 14th. The storm then developed into a typhoon as it curved towards the north, peaking with winds estimated near 85mph. The storm then weakened and dissipated as it turned northeast in the eastern Philippine Sea. Tropical Depression Two A weak tropical depression not far east of northern Mindanao, Philippines, on March 19th. The system then progressed through the Dinagat Islands and Leyte before dissipating near Masbate on March 20th. Typhoon Three A new storm developed east of the Visayas region of the Philippines on May 24th, and progressed northwest, becoming a typhoon before making landfall near the Aurora/Isabela border in Central Luzon. The landfall intensity of 105mph is a "best guess" estimate from Force Thirteen's storm database, given that no observations were made of this storm. Typhoon Three lost its structure over land, and struggled into the South China Sea before dissipating near the coast of China on June 1st. The interisland steamer "Negros" was caught in the storm whilst in transit north of Romblon, and it along with its complement of up to 70 passengers succumbed to its effects. Typhoon Four The third typhoon of the season followed quickly, at the end of May in the Philippine Sea. The storm peaked near the Batanes Islands, and a station at Basco recorded a pressure of 729.62mm/hg (972mb). The storm passed roughly 10 or 20 miles south of this location, and the database lists the pressure as 970mb with a correlating wind speed near 100mph. The storm then made a probable landfall in southern Taiwan (then known as Formosa) before turning post-tropical near Okinawa. There were no reports of damage. Typhoon Five The strongest storm to affect Taiwan was Typhoon Five, which formed on July 11th in the Philippine Sea, roughly 500 miles northwest of Yap, and assumed a gradual development phase until it reached Category 3 intensity on the 14th or 15th. By this time, the storm was influencing conditions in northern Luzon, though it turned northwards before significantly affecting the region. The typhoon passed just east of the Batanes islands and then made landfall near the southern tip of Taiwan as a Category 2 storm. It continued into China as a typhoon and dissipated well inland. Land effects are unknown, though one ship, the "Tjikandi", was damaged and was forced to return to Hong Kong for repairs. Typhoon Six The next storm formed on July 20th, not far west of where the last storm formed, and developed into a typhoon before making landfall in central Isabela, Philippines. The storm likely maintained or regained typhoon intensity over the South China Sea, before passing just south of Hong Kong, making landfall just west. The storm then movfed inland and curved west-southwest, dissipating on the border with Vietnam. Hong Kong measured a pressure of 980mb, accompanied by hurricane force wind gusts. Meanwhile, the steamer "President Madison" was located closer to the storm, and measured a pressure of 974mb with hurricane force winds in the northeastern quadrant. Force Thirteen's analysis therefore rates the storm with 90mph winds and a pressure of 972mb at the center. Typhoon Seven Another storm began to form in the Philippine Sea, east of Luzon, on August 6th. The storm then moved northwest towards the Batanes islands, but turned northeast before reaching them. The storm reached typhoon status for a brief period on August 8th, and lost that status as it neared Miyakojima, Japan, where it turned again northwest and dissipated in the East China Sea the next day. Typhoon Eight The next week, another storm formed only a few dozen miles south of the previous one, and again veered clear of the Philippine islands and instead becoming the third and last typhoon of the year to affect Taiwan. The storm probably made landfall shortly after its 105mph estimated peak, and continued into China, dissipating not far north of Guangzhou. No damages were reported. Typhoon Nine Whilst Typhoon Eight was active, Tropical Depression Nine formed a few hundred miles south of Guam, and proceeded on a steady west-northwesterly track with gradual strengthening, peaking as a Category 2 storm in the Philippine Sea, before clipping northern Calayan and the north coast of Luzon at this intensity. The typhoon then continued south of Hong Kong before making an eventual landfall near the Leizhou Peninsula in China. Ultimately, the storm dissipated north of Hanoi, Vietnam. In the Philippines, a pressure of 966mb was measured in Aparri, suggesting that the storm was probably stronger when it first made landfall near Santa Ana, further east. Therefore, Force Thirteen's estimate puts the storm at 963mb. No damages were reported. Typhoon Ten Just five days after Typhoon Nine formed, the tenth system followed in an almost identical location on August 21st. The storm took a track that affected no land areas until the very end of its existence, when it passed just south of the Japanese Daito islands as it weakened to a tropical depression. Out at sea, the typhoon likely peaked as a Category two storm, though it may have been stronger. Typhoon Eleven Later in the month, another system developed in the proximity of Guam on August 26th. The system passed near the island before developing into a typhoon late the next day. Steady, and then possibly rapid intensification ensued around 20 degrees north, 130 degrees east, and became only the fourth Category five storm on the Western Pacific record extending back to 1884. Typhoon Eleven then went on to become the strongest of these, with an estimated wind speed of 190mph and a verified air pressure of 887mb, recorded by an unidentified ship a few hundred miles east of Taiwan. This made Typhoon Eleven the most intense storm in the world until 1951, when it was eclipsed by Typhoon Marge. However, the 1927 typhoon would have the lowest recorded (as opposed to estimated) air pressure until reconnaissance aircraft entered Typhoon Nancy in 1961. The track of Typhoon Eleven is unclear after its peak, with various sources suggesting three possible tracks. The first and most likely is that the storm turned sharply to the north, over the southernmost Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and then towards the east-northeast, passing near or over Okinawa and turning post-tropical shortly afterwards. The operational hypothesis was that the storm passed over Taiwan as a much weakened system, eventually dissipating over China. A third and most intriguing theory is that the storm continued northwards over the East China Sea, and made landfall in what is now Lianing province, China, as a significant typhoon, causing some 5,000 fatalities and damages of $1,000,000. Whilst these numbers are difficult to doubt, it is unknown exactly when this disaster occurred, and whether it was related to Typhoon Eleven. It is entirely possible that these losses were as a result of Typhoon Twelve, indeed. Typhoon Twelve On September 9th, a new storm was detected in the Philippine Sea, and was moving north-northeast. The storm became the eleventh typhoon of the season the next day, and made landfall on Okinawa before peaking in the East China Sea as a Category two storm. The storm likely maintained most of its intensity until its landfall very close to Nagasaki, Japan. The storm then moved over Kyushu, Shikoku, and then grazed the southern coast of Honshu until turning post-tropical close to Tokyo. Aside from possible losses discussed during Typhoon Eleven, it was reported that 400 were killed and 2,300 injured in Japan as a whole. Typhoon Thirteen A new tropical storm formed in the Philippine Sea on September 17th, and made landfall over central Luzon without intensifying. The storm then moved into the South China Sea and briefly became a typhoon before rapidly weakening as it approached Hainan, dissipating just south of the island. No damages were reported. Typhoon Fourteen The easternmost typhoon of the season formed southeast of Guam on September 20th, and initially passed just west of Saipan as it became a tropical storm. It would go on to achieve typhoon status on the 22nd, curving northwestwards and then back towards the north, passing clear to the west of Iwo Jima and north of Mukojima, Japan. It likely turned post-tropical shortly afterwards, as it turned northeast. No damages were reported. Tropical Storm Fifteen The next system formed on September 23rd, several hundred miles south-southeast of the Daito islands of Japan. The system moved northwestwards for a day, until it drew within a hundred miles west of the islands, where it stalled. The system gained tropical storm intensity as it began to move northwards, towards the Amami islands after stalling for over a day, and thereafter rapidly proceeding towards the east-northeast, passing through the Izu islands before turning post-tropical on the 29th. No damages were reported. Tropical Storm Sixteen The next system formed northeast of Saipan on September 29th, and after initially dipping towards the southwest at first, the fifteenth tropical storm of the system claimed its status the next day as it turned towards the north. The storm went on to pass close to Iwo Jima and the Bonin Islands before turning post-tropical shortly afterwards. No damages were reported. Typhoon Seventeen The fourteenth typhoon of the season first formed southwest of Guam on October 3rd, and moved westwards for its entire life. The storm developed into a typhoon in the Philippine Sea, and made landfall in northern Samar as a strong Category one typhoon on October 6th. The storm then moved through Masbate, Romblon, and southernmost Mindoro before moving out into the South China Sea and likely dissipating before it reached Vietnam on the 8th. No damages were reported. Tropical Storm Eighteen The next storm formed to the northeast of Catanduanes, Philippines on October 9th, and again tracked westwards, making landfall in southern Aurora and passing just north of Angeles before moving out into the South China Sea and dissipating on the 12th. No damages were reported. Tropical Storm Nineteen One of the shortest lived storms of the season formed northwest of Saipan on October 16th, and moved in a general northerly direction, passing west of the rest of the Mariana Islands before turning post-tropical over open waters north of the chain. No damages were reported. Typhoon Twenty Then followed two of the the longest-lived storms of the season, the first of which forming near Guam on October 21st. The system generally moved west-southwest and gradually intensified until it reached its Category two peak as it turned towards the northeast, almost close enough to affect the Philippine island of Samar. The typhoon moved away to the north, however, and eventually passed just north of the Daito Islands, Japan, as a tropical storm, and turned post-tropical east of Torishima on October 30th. No damages were reported. Typhoon Twenty-One The longest-lived and second strongest storm of the season was Typhoon Twenty-One, which formed just east of Yap on November 17th. The system passed close to Yap as a depression before developing into a storm as it continued west. The storm then gradually turned towards the northwest, intensifying significantly as it drew within 100 miles of Catanduanes before stalling and turning northeast. The system initially weakened, likely due to upwelling, but then picked up pace as it moved northeastwards, peaking as a Category four storm for up to 18 hours before gradually weakening and passing close to Torishima, Japan, shortly before turning post-tropical. No damages were reported. Tropical Storm Twenty-Two The next storm formed east of Samar, Philippines and moved northeastwards, staying offshore as it made slow progress over the next two days. The storm eventually succumbed, possibly due to increasing wind shear, and dissipated on October 24th. No damages were reported. Tropical Storm Twenty-Three The final storm of the year was a typical late-season Philippine storm, forming on December 5th and then making landfall as a tropical storm in southern Samar the next day. The storm then clipped the northern tip of Leyte, moved over Panay and northern Palawan, and survived almost as far as southern Vietnam before dissipating completely. No damages were reported. Season Statistics Category:Typhoon